On May 27, at the end of the 9th Trilateral Summit in Seoul (South Korea), South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Chinese Premier Li Qiang signed a joint statement, highlighting key cooperation contents.
Partners and development opportunities
The leaders agreed that the three countries have significant potential for cooperation in many areas and will work to ensure that the people of the three countries can enjoy practical benefits from this cooperation, Yonhap news agency reported, citing a joint statement. The three countries will identify and implement mutually beneficial cooperation projects, focusing on six key areas closely related to people's lives: people-to-people exchanges; sustainable development; economic and trade cooperation; public health and population aging; science and technology cooperation, digital transformation; and disaster relief and safety.
The Republic of Korea, China and Japan reaffirmed their support for an open, transparent, inclusive, non-discriminatory and rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. The three countries also affirmed the importance of ensuring a transparent, smooth and effective implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement as a basis for a trilateral free trade agreement (FTA), under which the three parties will continue discussions to accelerate the trilateral FTA negotiations. The three countries reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining open markets and enhancing supply chain cooperation as well as avoiding supply chain disruptions.
The three countries also pledged to work together to address common challenges such as low birth rates and population aging; and noted the need to promptly address the potential impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) on human life.
Promoting “Tripartite Cooperation +”
According to the joint statement, the parties appreciated that trilateral cooperation has deepened in many areas, bringing benefits to the countries and peoples of the three countries; at the same time, they affirmed that this is a meaningful foundation for regional cooperation. The three countries will promote “Trilateral Cooperation Plus” so that the benefits of cooperation can be extended to other countries.
On the economic front, the three sides agreed that joint efforts in the economic and trade fields among the three countries play an important role in the prosperity and stability of the regional and global economy.
Recognizing that trilateral cooperation has developed in close partnership with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the leaders of South Korea, China and Japan agreed on the need to continue expanding trilateral cooperation within ASEAN frameworks such as ASEAN+3, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), expressing strong support for ASEAN’s centrality and solidarity.
This is the first trilateral summit in nearly five years. According to Xinhua, the joint statement responded to Chinese Premier Li Qiang's call that the three countries should regard each other as partners and development opportunities, reject protectionism and support globalization. Specifically, the countries oppose turning economic and trade issues into political games or security issues; and reject protectionism as well as decoupling or severing supply chains. According to Nikkei Asia, in a meeting held on the sidelines of the summit, more than 200 business leaders from the three countries agreed to strengthen cooperation in trade and supply chains.
Synthesized HAPPY CHI
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/hoi-nghi-thuong-dinh-han-nhat-trung-nen-tang-y-nghia-cho-hop-tac-khu-vuc-post741872.html
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